Moscow will not allow the defeat of pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned, arguing that both sides need to make concessions for a floundering peace deal to succeed.
Putin's statement in an interview with German ARD television came as European Union foreign ministers met in Brussels to discuss a response to the continuing fighting in Ukraine and German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared that the conflict was not just about Ukraine but about peace across Europe.
In the interview broadcast late yesterday, Putin said he still believes in the success of peace efforts in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian rebels have been battling Kiev's troops in a conflict that has claimed more than 4,000 lives.
The Russian leader blamed the fighting on the failure by both the rebels and Ukrainian troops to pull back from the front line - a key requirement under a September cease-fire.
In the rebel-held stronghold of Donetsk, officials said today that one civilian had been killed and eight injured in fighting over the weekend.
The pound of artillery fire could be heard in the city throughout the morning.
After Ukraine announced Friday that it would suspend banking services in rebel-held areas, Donetsk residents huddled outside banks today, waiting to withdraw their dwindling cash.
On the Ukrainian side, six troops were killed and nine wounded in clashes yesterday, according to the Ukrainian National Security Council.
Unidentified attackers also killed three traffic police, it said.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied claims by Ukraine and the West that Moscow has been fueling the rebellion with troops and weapons.
Putin dodged the question in the ARD interview, saying "in today's world, anyone waging a fight that they believe fair will always find weapons."
He accused the West of turning a blind eye to Ukraine's use of heavy weapons against residential areas in rebel-held areas.
"You want the Ukrainian central authorities to annihilate everyone there, all of their political foes and opponents?" he said. "Is that what you want? We certainly don't. And we won't let it happen."
At a meeting today in Brussels, European Union foreign ministers mulled the possibility of further sanctions against Moscow for its actions regarding Ukraine.
Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign affairs chief, said more sanctions against Russia would not be effective and the EU should focus instead on encouraging meaningful reforms in Kiev.
But Merkel, speaking in Sydney after the G-20 summit in Australia, struck a more defiant note, saying sanctions would remain in place "as far and long as they are needed.
